Xanadu Weyr - Kanekith's Arc Forge
Half-set into a forested knoll is a curved bulwark of stone, tracing out part of a circle. Slightly more than half, in fact. The curved outer wall is yellowed fieldstone, looking like the ruins of some ancient tower now tumbled to a single story's worth of height and adapted into a weyr. The circular shape is completed by a courtyard of red bricks, set into the ground in a houndstooth pattern. The inner wall is slightly concave, made of that same yellow stone, and the sloped roof is a partial cone made from red tile.
The heart of the clearing is a machine now. A small open forge is set out slightly from the wall. There's a bellows to coax the flame hot enough to melt iron and an anvil to work it over. A few wooden chairs provide a place to sit and listen to any avians not yet frightened away by the clang of metal, or perhaps to roast sausages on sticks over a forge whose coals have burnt down low.
To either side of the forge, there's a large archway that leads to a sheltered couch. It's fairly narrow, enough so that a large bronze might have difficulty turning around, but perhaps that's why there's one archway on each end, the openings cleverly angled to keep out most of the wind while still allowing the draconic inhabitant to keep watch on the approaches. Along the back wall of that couch, in the center, is a human-sized door leading further inside.
The clanging of metal rings sharply from the forge as Ka'el works at banging materiall that's to be shaped into something or another. He's out of practice, and he knows it. But this is busy work. It's a rest day, one of a few, this hot summer afternoon and Ka'el, for once, has his dragon with him. Kanekith lounges in the shade of his arc, watching Ka'el work. The bronze has also reached out to his two clutchmates, Xeosoth and Kalsuoth. His rider wishes for your riders to come. That was the message, and now that it's been sent, the two of them wait. Kanekith quietly, Ka'el no so much. Bang! Clang!
Mur'dah isn't long in arriving, since he lives just up the pathway and was doing his own banging - though his is nails to wood, instead of hammer to metal. Still. The forest is noisy today. "Ka'el?" Mur'dah calls as he walks in, dipping his head in a little nod of greeting to Kanekith. Sup.
Ah…rest days. The first part of the morning had found M'kal's own rest day cleaning his dusty weyr. Dusty, dirty. He's a typical bachelor to be honest. But he wanted it clean for some reason so he worked on that. Then other things happened. Now he's departing his weyr and walking…where? Not sure where. He's just walking and his steps had found him at the beach when Xeosoth bespoke him to pass on the message. "Yeah? Why for?" he asks aloud which draws strange looks from other beach goers. Ignoring them he heads off at a slow trot. Once here he peeks around Mur'dah's shoulder as he comes up behind his friend. "Oh hiya Mur'dah." cue the goofiest grin to ever grace M'kal's features. "What's he want you know?" he adds in a quieter voice to the brown rider.
Kanekith has been such a joy to be around since Luraoth's flight! He rumbles to Mur'dah a greeting, a thing which he rarely ever does. Ignore people? Sure, he's super great at doing that! Acknowledging them? Uh, not so much. Where did the old Kanekith go? .. Don't worry folks, when those eggs finally come and hatch, he'll be back to his old arrogant self! … Hooray? Ka'el's clanging continues til he gets word from Kanekith that others are here. So he stops, setting his hammer down and turning to look at the arrivals. "Hey," he says back to Mur'dah, nodding to him. He just .. looks at M'kal and that grin. O .. kay. He doesn't bother arching a brow. He moves away from the forge and towards two storage room claimed lawn chairs and a regular kitchen table chair that've been set out. Single man hospitality at its best! "Have a seat. Want a drink?" He pours a clear liquid into two mugs that are at the ready. "Water." he says, almost disappointedly.
Mur'dah turns to glance back at M'kal when he arrives. "Heeeeey," he says, drawing it out with a little look of confusion. "What's with you? You know to stay away from the mushrooms, right? I don't have any idea," he adds, looking back to Ka'el. And blinking in genuine surprise at Kanekith's greeting. Whoah. Is he in the Twilight Zone? Ka'el inviting them over, M'kal looking ever so goofy, and being acknowledged by the bronze? Uh. Moving forward, he does sit and nods at the offer of a drink. "Just wat - yeah, that's perfect," he says happily as he takes the mug. "What's, uh, what's up?" And he looks at M'kal too. Stare. Brother senses are tingling.
Xeosoth warbles a cheerful greeting to the bronze, mentally and vocally, as he lands outside. M'kal can't wipe off that goof grin. "'Shrooms…huh? Oh no shrooms." his smile brightens. Is that possible. "Kanekith." he murmurs in some surprise as they are greeted. An open hand pats Mur'dah on the shoulder. Words? Naw. He doesn't need them. "WAter's fine." he assures Ka'el. "What's up?" he echoes Mur'dah.
Ka'el gives a mug to each of them, then plops down in whichever chair is unoccupied. "A lot," he answers Mur'dah honestly. "First, I haven't been honest with you guys. A lot've shit went down durin' Lura's flight, and since I'm the only one out've us with a dragon that's caught anything, the weyrwoman thinks it'll be for the good of the weyr for me to tell you guys what I can about it to keep you from fuckin' up as much as I did when you do catch." He glances to Mur'dah, who he knows has chased already. Then M'kal, who he guesses hasn't. "Which I probably should've done way before now as a friend. I lost control with Sori. We all know that happens, but.. it's the intensity of it that we don't know, and no one ever talks about what happens after. Maybe because it was Kanekith's first catch. Maybe it was me. Either way, I hurt her, and how I feel about that isn't somethin' I want happening to either've you."
Mur'dah can't interpret that man gesture of a hand pat on the shoulder. What does that mean? He eyes M'kal again. But then Ka'el is, like…/talking/. So he's got Mur'dah's full attention. Frowning, the brownrider leans forward. "You hurt her?" he asks, sounding more confused than anything.
Oh…this subject again. M'kal looks distinctly unhappy for some reason and perhaps his mutter explains it. "Must Ispend all day talking about flights." it's muttered though. As Ka'el continues he sits down heavily and slowly proceeds to lose all color from his face. "Hurt?" he echoes hollowly. "Hurt her? She…you hurt too?" he asks. "Intensity." yes at this point all he can do it focus on several key words in all of Ka'els words.
Ka'el nods. "Yes," he answers to Mur'dah, not looking proud of himself in the least. "Badly. I didn't mean to. I don't even remember doing it… not really. I remember like.. flashes, but it's nearly like it wasn't me at all. Like I'm watchin' someone else fuck up my girlfriend." He wrinkles his nose, and exhales a breath before answering M'kal. "Not as much as I did her. I remember everything after." He looks at the brownrider. "I told you flights don't count. I was wrong about that. They count for something because as much as you don't remember, you won't ever forget either, and what happens after matters because of the flight. Soriana…won't forgive me for what I did. I can't expect to her to.. I wish she would, but I can't blame her for not. Maybe it wouldnt've happened if I'd've had someone tellin' me something useful about what we do durin' flights, you know? Maybe. Maybe not. But you guys are my friends. I know I've been a shitty one but you are my friends, and if there's any shot at keepin' you from bein' me during flights, I want to give it to you. They always say you don't have any control over yourself, but maybe you do. Maybe a tiny part've me could've made me less … intense if I would've tried. But I didn't because nobody ever said there was a chance."
Mur'dah glances again at M'kal. "All day?" he mutters to the bluerider. But then his focus returns to Ka'el, frowning. "Maybe there isn't a chance," he says quietly, staring down into his mug of water. Water. Jeez. "Is she going to be okay?" he asks quietly, glancing between the other two riders. Then he just sighs heavily, shoulders drooping. "Have you guys talked?" He's more worried about the two of them, apparently. Because..c'mon. It's Ka'el and Sori!
"All day what?" M'kal asks with feigned innocence to his friend. Than his attention is all on Ka'el again. "The intensity..but.." he seems unable to make a coherent sentence. As Mur'dah asks if they are ok then he can focus on something else. "Always that intense? I mean…maybe cause it was you two? If…Idrissa rises?" he coughs, turning red suddenly from embarrassment.
"She's alright.. sort of," Ka'el says, frowning. "And then..she's not. It was her first flight, you know? I… I dunno. I ruined it. She…" His mouth twitches. "We talked." Just the other day, actually! .. An entire handful of sevens after. "We hadn't talked since the flight. She doesn't trust me. She's afraid of bein' around me." Unhappier and unhappier he looks. It is too bad he only has water left! He coughs a little. "So," he says, pushing all that away, or at least trying so. "That's why you're here. I don't want it to be like that for you. I dunno if it's always like that," he answers M'kal. "I don't know if it was because've me and her. I just know that nothing's the same anymore because of it. I don't want to hurt anybody. I don't want you guys to know what it feels like to wake up next to somebody lookin'… the way she did. So. Do me a favor. When your dragons chase, when you're still a little coherent, try to hold on to something. Think about anything else. Your ma. Your da. V'dim naked." -.- "It might not work, but it's better than not tryin' at all." The mentioning of Idrissa has his eyes rolling. "She can go f-.." Mm, no. "I'm not worried about her."
Mur'dah shakes his head at M'kal, "But if anything they'd want to be /nice/ to each other, because there's love there," he mutters. Then he squirms. "Shards, Tahryth is going to rise soon too…shit." He sighs, looking up at Ka'el, grimacing. "Shit, Ka'el. I'm sorry," he says heavily. He twitches a bit at the idea of naked V'dim, but he doesn't laugh, he just shakes his head again. "Thanks. Are you going to be okay?"
M'kal grimaces but listens all the way through Ka'el's words. Maybe he's making mental notes. If Xeosoth is listening one can assume he is. Perhap's that why the blue hasn't risen yet. He's doing his typical pattern of watching everyone else to see what happens. Will Idrissa's green be his first? Perhaps a thought M'kal has for he pales a bit and casts an unconscious look over his shoulder, perhaps envisioning a certain cottage. Speaking of which… "You still staying with Marel?" evidently in their time together earlier it wasn't a topic that came up.
Ka'el shakes his head. "No," is his honest reply. "I'm not gonna be okay. She's.." he leans back in his chair a little. "If we lived somewhere else, she'd've been somebody I'd ask to marry me. She is.. was my best friend, other than Kanekith. Now, I don't even know if she wants to be my friend, or if she just wants to see me as random Xanadu citizen number forty-three." Things didn't look too promising the last he spoke with her. "I don't know how to be okay with that. But … point've all this is, try to hold on to yourself. The "flight excuse" doesn't help fix anything if you fuck up too badly. That's all." Um … class dismissed! Or something. He doesn't have much else to say unless they have any questions for him. Which M'kal does. He shakes his head. "Nah. Convinced her I wasn't going to drink myself to death, so she let me back home."
Mur'dah glances at M'kal. "I went by earlier but you were there…" So he didn't approach. "I still need to talk to her." So let Marel be alone for a bit? All these males knocking on her door… Sipping at his water, Mur'dah grimaces and then reaches out to offer Ka'el a clasp to his shoulder, or arm. "I'm sorry," he says again. "If there's anything we can do…" Hollow, but what else can he say? At least he doesn't turn things back to elementary school and say, 'I thought I was your best friend!'. Yay for growth.
Ka'el offers a vague smile to Mur'dah and nods once to him. "Yeah, I'll…figure somethin' out." At least it doesn't seem as if he's crawling back to liquor just yet! That's a plus, yes? Kanekith rumbles from where he is and sets his head down, for once keeping put instead of searching for the brooding gold. "Just .. try to remember what I said, will you? You already chased once. Gonna catch eventually." Maybe sooner than he thinks. Ka'el surely didn't expect to chase /or/ catch what.. just a week after graduation? Geeze.
Mur'dah takes a deep breath and nods. "Yeah. I will," he says, heavily. And he will, for sure. But flights just got even more scary. Woo.
Ka'el rises from his chair and stretches his arms. Unfortunately, that little talk just put everything back in his mind that he's been attempting to shove away. So! Back to being busy. "Come around every once in a while," he invites as he heads back to the forge, reclaiming his hammer. "Make sure I haven't relapsed or somethin', huh?" A joke. A bad one. He smirks, then gets back to hammering metal to hopefully occupy his mind with something else.
Mur'dah pushes to his feet and grimaces a bit, giving him a frank look. Yeah, bad joke. "I will. And you come visit me too, yeah? I'm sleeping there, now that I've got a roof and walls…" With a touch of fingers to his brow, he sets his mug down and wanders back up the path, hating flights.
"Oh hey, Mur'dah!" Ka'el calls suddenly, pausing in his hammering to look his way. He grips and ungrips his handle. Unsure. "…She trusts…you." He tries not to grimace as he says so, succeeding for the most part. "Will you check up on her.. time to time? Make sure she's alright?"
Mur'dah is startled by the request, but then he looks almost…relieved? No doubt he was wondering if he should - could - go check on her. "Of course I will," he promises with a nod. "Yeah. Sure."
M'kal is quiet, perhaps simply content to listen to the two who may be closer friends than he. Certainly he stands with a bit of discomfort at all the flight talk. "Hey…I keep an eye on her too." he protests weakly. "Thanks though…for uh talking to us."
Ka'el looks back to the fire, nodding once in reply. Okay then. He doesn't say anything else because he doesn't trust himself to say anything that'd be really .. you know. Productive. He can't blame Sori. He can't blame Mur'dah for being … well, Mur'dah the great in her eyes either. He goes back hammering. Forging! That's what he's good at. Something he hasn't yet totally twisted up into a mess somehow. Hopefully he helped his friends. Too bad he can't help himself. He's brought out of his thoughts by M'kal, and he nods. "Yeah, you too," he assures. Everyone keep an eye on his .. ex..girlfriend? for him, please. "Thanks M'kal. For comin' and .. yeah." Guys. So great at communicating!
Mur'dah glances between the two of them and nods, before he's reaching out to try and grab a handful of M'kal's sleeve, pulling him down the pathway and hissing something softly to him.
Mur'dah mutters to M'kal, "… you sleep with my…"
M'kal tenses and growls out. "None of your business, Mur'dah!" he moves to jerk his hand free of the handful of sleeve that got grabbed.
Mur'dah lets go and eyes his friend. "It's fine if you did! I don't care." Except he just asked.
M'kal huffs a bit that says he doesn't believe Mur'dah doesn't care. "See ya Ka'el." his mood is slightly deflated as he heads off. Where too? If followed he'll be seen going into a cottage instead of his near underground weyr.